The Arkham Sessions, Ep. 145: ‘Doom Patrol - Hair Patrol’

The Arkham Sessions, hosted by Dr. Andrea Letamendi and Brian Ward, is a weekly podcast dedicated to the psychological analysis of pop culture, including Batman: The Animated Series and Doom Patrol. Nostalgic, humorous, and even a little educational, each episode promises to lend some insight into the heroes, villains, and classic stories of the Dark Knight!

The Arkham Sessions, Ep. 145 - "Hair Patrol"

The term pogonophile refers to a person who has an obsessive love of beards. We discuss this concept and go down a few hairy rabbit holes in this episode centering around a new character, The Beard Hunter. This eccentric villain seems to find pleasure in persecuting and exterminating men with beards. Yes, that's right: Men with beards. His world intersects with the Doom Patrol crew when he's asked to locate the whereabouts of their bearded leader, Niles Caulder. As it turns out, The Beard Hunters's obsession with facial hair seems to combine revulsion with euphoria, so naturally we get pretty curious about how erotic attachments develop.

Paraphilias are the opposite of phobias. These are the things we love or that make us aroused, and it seems as though there's an endless number of inanimate objects we can attach ourselves to. So, what is the origin of an obsession this strong? How are fetishes developed? And should these strange connections become much more, beyond the objectification of things and toward more meaningful relationships with actual, reciprocating people?

Let us know your thoughts below!

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